BHOPAL: A shocking incident at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bhopal, has raised serious questions about security at the premier central government medical institution after a masked man allegedly snatched a mangalsutra from a female staff member inside an elevator.
The incident occurred on Sunday evening in a lift located behind the blood bank. The victim, identified as Varsha Soni, an attendant posted in the Department of Gynaecology, was alone in the elevator when the accused entered.
According to available information, the man, wearing a surgical mask, engaged the woman in brief conversation, casually asking which floor housed the Ophthalmology department. As the elevator reached the third floor, the man stepped out but suddenly turned back and lunged at her.
He reportedly attempted to snatch both her mangalsutra and pearl necklace, but managed to flee with only the mangalsutra. The woman was left traumatised and reportedly sat crying near the lift for nearly ten minutes, while the accused escaped without being intercepted by any security personnel.
Although no formal complaint was lodged, local police took cognisance of the matter after CCTV footage of the incident went viral. Multiple police teams have since begun investigating the case.
“A suspect has not yet been identified. CCTV footage from inside the AIIMS campus and nearby areas suggests that the accused did not arrive on his own vehicle but escaped by taking a lift on a two-wheeler after committing the crime,” a senior Bhopal police officer told The New Indian Express on Tuesday. “We are hopeful of identifying and apprehending him soon.”
Preliminary investigations indicate that the accused fled through the in-patient department (IPD) gate, allegedly exploiting reduced security due to it being a Sunday and the Republic Day weekend. His identity remains concealed, making the task of identification more challenging.